Unrelenting Force
by LilyMagic
Summary: With her beloved comrade Levi Ackerman on the verge of death, Hange Zoe used her very last resort in a desperate attempt to save his life. But will she come to regret her decision? Post Attack on Titan Manga Chapter 115. LeviHan.
1. Chapter 1

**Unrelenting Force**

**1**

_854, Paradis_

"We're losing him."

With a sickening thud, yet another blood soaked cloth fell on the huge pile next to the bed. Several women worked frantically around the broken man before them, hearts racing in a dizzying frenzy. Servants moved around them in assistance, some going in and out of the modest room to get supplies.

A beautiful blonde woman worked around the man swiftly and expertly despite her huge, bulging belly, an amazing feat for her small size. She wore a loose fitting, simple white nightgown that was now stained all over with the man's blood. Her eyes were fierce and full of determination as she worked. The eyes of the other woman in the room who was clearly not a servant, however, were brimming with tears behind her filthy glasses. She was completely soaked and covered in blood and dirt, her Survey Corps uniform stained all over. She pressed her fingers on the unconscious man's wrist.

"Historia, I can barely feel it now! He could go any moment!" Her voice shook and her breathing was frantic. "We need to do it!"

"Hold on, Hange," implored Queen Historia Reiss. "If I cauterize this big wound here, maybe we'll -"

"It's far too late for that!" Commander Hange Zoe screamed desperately. "Just look how much blood he's lost already! It's a miracle he even has a pulse at all!"

"It's too risky! We can't do it here. What will we do _afterwards_? Try to calm down."

"I'm telling you, we have no other choice! I have to use it, _now_!"

"Hange, wait!"

Into his forearm went the thick needle, Hange's movement extremely swift as she injected the titan serum into her comrade's body. Historia gasped and gestured at her servants to step back. They observed in stunned silence, paralyzed with fear.

At that moment, the Survey Corps Commander was but a vulnerable, devastated woman, her shoulders shaking with every suppressed sob as she summoned every ounce of self control to remain perfectly still while she continued to inject all of the serum into his body. Only sheer willpower kept her functioning at that point, the adrenaline of the past hour long gone.

How she managed to make it all the way to Historia's countryside location after swimming downstream an unruly river while carrying his unconscious body _and_ getting shot at by hateful traitors the first several minutes - she would never know. It was all a vague blur to her now. By some miracle, the river's direction and the surrounding terrain allowed her to lose their pursuers, but then she had to somehow swim the rest of the way without both of them drowning. Captain Levi Ackerman was unexpectedly heavy for his petite size, and every single time she saw his alarmingly pale complexion, horrifying wounds and profuse blood loss, she had to summon every once of self control to hold back a scream. How in the world did the most powerful being alive - far more powerful than the strongest of all titans - end up like this? What will happen to them all if he died? But most importantly - he was her brother-in-arms, her battle sibling, a completely irreplaceable comrade with whom she'd shared many long, terrible years of misery and survived all manner of hellish battles with. Their bond was completely incomparable to any other, utterly unbreakable, and even stronger, she was sure, than a bond of blood. She couldn't even fathom a world without him. By any means necessary, she _had_ to save him. No matter what. Even if that meant taking enormous risks.

"I can't believe you did it. You're crazy..."

Historia Reiss gazed at the scene in front of her as if she expected a huge blast any second. She turned to the servant next to her. "Quick, summon every guard in the vicinity. Tell them a titan has appeared. Now!" She then turned to the commander, rubbing her large belly and slowly stepping back. "I can't believe this. I can't… in this condition, I'm…"

"Don't worry, Historia. I'll protect you." Hange Zoe's voice was weak as she backed away from the bed, the vial of the injection now empty. She drew her weapons and stood in front of Historia while facing the bed, her face contorted with multiple emotions. "I'll figure something out, trust me. I'll find a way to restrain him and I'll take full responsibility for this…"

But several seconds had already passed uneventfully, she soon realized.

"Hold on…"

No explosion of hot steam. No bright, blinding flashes of yellow light. No quick formations of titan body parts. Just Levi, parchment white and impossibly bloody, broken beyond repair, lying limply and perfectly still on the blood stained bed.

A minute passed.

"What's going on, Hange?"

"This can't be happening," the Commander frowned. "The effect should've been almost immediate. It… it didn't work?"

Hange slowly and dreadfully approached the bed, her body numb and a heaviness increasing inside her with every step she took. She crumpled down on the blood stained floor right next to the bed, her legs finally giving in to extreme exhaustion and overwhelming despair. Without realizing what she was doing, she reached toward Levi and began stroking his blood soaked, silky raven locks. She couldn't hold it back any longer.

"No. _No!_ This can't be happening. This isn't happening!" She wailed and sobbed uncontrollably. "No, no, no, no, no! You _can't_! You _can't_ go like this! _Levi_! We need you. No…no…no… If you go… all is lost… it's over… if you go… I'll go with you...I can't…"

She continued stroking his hair, head bowed deeply as she began to sob so intensely she could no longer speak.

In him lied all the dreams, efforts and struggles of them all, the will of humanity itself entrusted to one man with unprecedented and unparalleled strength. That was Captain Levi. He was their savior, their beacon of hope - an unrelenting force. Unstoppable in every way, the mere thought of his broken body had been unfathomable to her or anyone else. He always, _always_ stood proud amongst all the broken bodies around him, the wings of freedom on the back of his cape billowing in the wind. He always stood fresh, relaxed and impeccable amongst all his exhausted, stressed out and filthy comrades, comrades that always clung to him and his untouchable power. But as Hange's fingers passed through his hair and brushed against his skin, she started to realize how alarmingly cold he'd gotten and she started to recall how small his limp body felt when she carried him in her arms moments before. An aching, burning hole seemed to form in her chest as she sobbed.

Lost in her excruciating grief, Hange didn't even register the presence of several guards and additional servants in the room, or the sound of frantic, panicked and confused voices around her. All she could feel was Levi's soft hair and cold skin, and her pain.

One of the confused guards studying the scene before them approached Historia, saluted and respectfully asked what happened.

Historia was on the verge of tears. "I… I'm not sure. The Commander used the serum on Captain Levi here, but for some reason it didn't work. It was our last resort..."

Historia rubbed her belly absent-mindedly, only then noticing how exhausted she was physically and emotionally after the whole ordeal. The very last thing she expected that night as she peacefully read her favorite book by the fireplace was for Hange Zoe to kick open the front door of her residence, completely soaked and covered from head to toe in blood and dirt, absolutely frantic and carrying an even more filthy and bloody body of a hooded soldier in her arms. Everything after that happened so quickly, it wasn't until the body was placed on the nearest bed and the hood slipped away from the face that Historia finally realized, with a loud and flabbergasted gasp, the soldier's identity. Surely, if it was Captain Levi, he'd pull through no matter what, she thought. Her best servants got to work assisting her immediately, and she was so confident that all her years of training as a healer would pay off that night. Her resolve had been as strong as ever. She had no doubt in her mind that she'd help someone like him survive and recover.

But at that moment, only despair prevailed.

Historia really couldn't stand to watch the heart-wrenching scene in front of her. Her eyes burned and hot tears ran down her cheeks as she approached her friend. She placed her hand on Hange Zoe's shaking shoulder.

"I'm so sorry."

Historia noticed, even more at that moment, something particular about Hange's behavior and the intensity of her suffering, something that hinted at suspicions Historia and many others had for years about the commander and the captain. It only made the situation a hundred times more unbearable. The queen ordered the guards and servants to step out of the room.

"Hange... I am so, so sorry."

The Commander still sobbed, although more quietly, and again before she realized what she was doing, she moved higher beside the bed and threw one of her arms over Levi's chest, still stroking his hair amorously with her other hand. She kissed his pale forehead and cheeks between her sobs.

Then Historia heard a few words as they came out of Hange's mouth very softly, barely audible.

"I... never told you... how much I love you," the Commander whispered, her breath brushing the skin on his fair but injured face. She swiftly kissed Levi's lips before resting her head against his chest, her sobs getting gradually weaker.

More tears ran down Historia's cheeks as she watched. She rubbed Hange's back in an instinctive attempt to comfort her, strongly wishing she could do more. She vowed to stay by Hange's side.

A few minutes passed.

Historia wiped away her tears, only then realizing how blurry she's been seeing. As soon as it became clear again and her eyes rested on the body before her, however, she immediately froze. For a few seconds, she was totally speechless, her brain frozen solid as she merely stared in disbelief. But then she forced her lips to move and form words.

"Hange. _Look_."

The Commander looked at Historia, then to where the queen was pointing, but she could barely see anything at all. She took off her filthy glasses and frantically wiped them clean with one of the nearby unused cloths, then wiped away the tears on her eyes. She put her glasses back on and looked again.

Hange's heart skipped a beat. Speechless, she grabbed Levi's right hand and held it closer as she observed the phenomenon before her.

The slightest wisps of steam, like thin little white tendrils, were slowly coming out of the holes where his index and middle fingers had been severed. She put her fingers over his wrist for a moment and screamed. The avalanche of intense emotions hit Hange all at once like a boulder.

"Hange… is that what I think it is?" Historia whispered. "Does this mean…"

Hange's hands started to shake as she held Levi's for a moment. Then, without even realizing what she was doing, she started to giggle crazily, and the giggles got louder and louder until they became full blown screams of ecstatic joy. She turned and threw her arms around Historia, rocking her sideways in a tight and ecstatic embrace.

"Hange….stop…my back…" Historia barely managed to say, although she found her chest soaring rapidly as well, her tears of sadness quickly transforming into tears of joy. Hange released her but held her hands tightly.

"We did it, Historia!" The commander screamed. "It worked! It actually worked! He has a pulse and it's stronger than before! He'll live! He'll live!" She cackled crazily again. By then, multiple servants had entered the room in response to all the unexpected noise.

Hange Zoe had been through multiple hells before, but she'd never experienced such an extreme roller coaster of emotions before that night. After she finally calmed down a little bit, she got to work around Levi. She closely studied all of his wounds and repeatedly took his pulse on several intervals. His bleeding finally stopped. She also noticed the same very slight wisps of steam were coming out of every wound, but it seemed to be much more noticeable on his right hand, where his two fingers had been severed. Apparently, the regeneration was concentrated on his lost extremities.

She quickly made some calculations based on the data she remembered by heart from her many years of titan experimentation and studying the titan serum. She estimated, based on the intensity of the process she observed, that the regeneration speed was roughly about four times slower than that of an average titan shifter. The commander sat down with Historia on a nearby table and immediately started to excitedly spout out scientific explanations and theories while the queen's servants got to work cleaning up the room and the injured soldier. The queen looked increasingly bewildered as Hange spoke.

"Believe me, Historia, I read _everything_ I found about the subject these past few years! Ackermans are _so_ fascinating! And I've always believed that Levi is a special case - a true prodigy! I think his superior Ackerman genotype caused this totally unique and amazing effect we're seeing right now! The exact chemical compounds of the titan serum are still classified, but especially after seeing what's happening right now, I estimate the concentration of nucleotides must be almost exactly the same as in his genetic molecules - "

Historia held up a hand. "Hold on, Hange. Slow down. I didn't follow at all. Can you explain using _normal_ words, please?"

"Oh, right, sorry… what I meant to say is, I believe that because Levi is not only an Ackerman - a byproduct of titan science - but a special one that already had more titan-like traits than his peers, the titan serum didn't have the normal effect on him. I think it's the reason he hasn't transformed into a titan. After all, in essence, Ackermans are _already_ titans but in human form, in a way, and more so in his case. I can't be completely sure what the exact result will be, but based on my observations and calculations so far, I think the serum caused further mutations on Levi's genome makeup instead of a titan transformation, and began a process of transposing the new but similar chemical compounds into a reconfigured version of his -"

"You've lost me again."

"Oops, sorry! What I meant to say is that - bottom line - Levi won't turn into a titan, especially not soon. I think."

"You think, or you know?"

"Like I said, this is an unprecedented situation here. As far as I know, no other Ackerman in recorded history has undergone this process. But I believe he won't turn into a pure titan, and instead he'll recover completely but at a slower rate than a titan shifter. Does that make sense?"

"Yes, that finally made sense. But Hange… can you also predict what will happen once Levi awakens? Do you think he'll be…himself?"

The queen's apprehensive eyes darted sideways toward the bed. Hange almost forgot. Like many others, Historia always feared the captain, but her fear only got worse during the events leading up to her coronation, and Hange couldn't blame her. Levi had been harsher than normal during that time, especially with her - and especially when he intimidated her in front of the others, demanding she become queen. The thought crossed Hange's mind that maybe, at that moment, a part of Historia wished she hadn't helped him at all.

A few seconds of tense silenced passed between the two women.

"I'm sorry, Historia," Hange replied heavily. Her expression darkened. "I really can't say for sure. This process is almost like him being reborn, and it will inevitably give him more... titan-like traits. Some of those traits may resemble the ones we've seen with the titan shifters, or they may be completely new. How they will actually manifest is unknown. The only thing we can do now is wait and see. And hope."

"Oh, no…" Historia's eyes filled with dread.

"Calm down. Listen, I think it will be fine. But since I can't guarantee what will happen, let's take some precautions, just in case. I estimate that his regenerative process will take approximately four to six hours. I think it's unlikely he will regain consciousness sooner than that. I will stay here to support your personal guards until he wakes up. I will keep a very close watch on him at all times. Go rest now, Historia. Please. You need it. Thank you so much for all your help."

Hange tried to portray as much confidence as she could as spoke, especially to make the exhausted queen feel at least some ease after bringing such chaos to her out of nowhere. She wanted the queen to finally be able to get her much needed and much deserved rest that night. Hange gathered all the strength she could muster to set aside her own exhaustion and appear strong before the others while explaining the situation and organizing the guards.

The nightmare would soon be over, she hoped, but she needed to keep it together for several more hours. As she sat several feet away from the bed and waited, vowing to do everything she could to stay awake, Hange kept remembering all the challenges she faced and managed to overcome in her quest to gain knowledge about the Ackerman clan. One of them being what most thought impossible - finding a way to convince Levi to participate in her Ackerman research. But she'd always been extremely bold and reckless around danger, and she was dead set on getting the much needed knowledge, as always. The first time she asked him the result hadn't been pleasant, of course, but eventually, with unwavering persistence and much to everyone's astonishment - even her own, she made it happen. He'd reluctantly agreed to help. She took advantage of that miracle and also the sudden influx of knowledge from outside the island, and combined her research with every single piece of information she could find related to the subject of the Ackerman clan.

She went to check on Levi again, closely studying his recovering wounds and taking his pulse several times. Right away she noticed the rise in body temperature she expected due to titan regeneration, especially on the body parts closest to the wounds. The temperature itself, however, was higher than she'd expected, to the point where she knew touching him for an extended period of time would actually cause a burn. She made a mental note to closely monitor that particular change in the upcoming hours, then continued her observations. Despite his extremely high body temperature, he was not perspiring at all - a typical titan characteristic, she knew. Hange also noticed the wisps of steam got much more noticeable as time passed and that his skin was gradually becoming less pale. As she closely observed the wounds for several minutes, she could distinguish their visible healing process - a truly remarkable sight. She stroked Levi's soft raven locks, now damp mostly from the water the servants used to wash away the blood.

She took one of the clean cloths next to her and dipped it in the water on one of the nearby containers. She squeezed the excess water from it, then gently wiped away a tiny bit of blood she'd spotted on the side of his forehead that they'd missed. Memories of her comrade came to her as she carefully and gently cleansed the skin on his face with the cloth. She thought about his eccentric and very amusing obsession with neatness, even in the midst of a battle. Her lips curved into a slight grin, then she briskly pressed them against his forehead.

"Soon you'll be back with me, Levi…" She whispered very softly, barely audible.

She stood and watched him for a while longer. At that moment, he seemed to be merely sleeping peacefully. She'd never seen him look so harmless, like an exhausted and very beautiful but broken angel deeply asleep on white linens. It then hit her that after all the years working together, she'd never actually seen him sleep before, not even once, at least not as soundly, and definitely never on an actual bed. He was always the one standing irritably over her groggy, recently awakened self, harshly and sternly forcing her off the bed and unto her feet amongst multiple scolds. She was mesmerized at how different he looked at that moment and continued to watch him.

After a few more minutes, however, her legs started to give up on her, demanding she rest. The queen's guards switched positions as instructed to do so every hour, two in the room with her and the remaining guarding the hallway outside and the entrance to the queen's residence. She decided to go back to her position on the room.

Hange plopped down on her chair and, all of a sudden, her energy just dropped dramatically and uncontrollably. The physical, emotional and mental duress she'd endured that night had been too much, even for the Commander of the Survey Corps. She didn't even realize the moment her very heavy eyelids shut and she nodded off.

At some point later that night, a loud crack of thunder echoed all around her.

Startled awake, Hange immediately sat bolt upright on her chair as soon as her eyes opened. She gasped when she realized that not only had she fallen asleep for an unknown amount of time, but that there were now pools of blood on the floor of the room. The bed was empty and its linens - still clean - lay on the floor beside it.

Her battle instincts kicked in immediately. She cursed and jumped up from the chair brandishing her weapons in one swift and practiced movement, every single sense heightened as she took in her surroundings. It was still very dark outside - not many hours passed since she fell asleep.

She quickly spotted two very bloody and viciously mangled guards, to the point that they were barely recognizable, on the floor of the other side of the room, their bodies twisted in unusual angles in ways that made her stomach turn. As she carefully studied them, she discovered they also had severe burns on their faces and that their tongues had been cut off. Using her many years of rigorous battle experience and the evidence around her, she created a picture in her mind of the events that transpired while she'd slept, like pieces of a very macabre puzzle.

Her heart was about to burst inside her chest.

She'd been _asleep_ through all of this? How silently and skillfully had he moved while still regenerating? Did her being alive mean he was still himself - at least partially?

Her astonishment only intensified with each mangled body she passed as she carefully made her way out of the room, down the hallway, and toward the entrance of the residence, her battle stance flawless as she held her weapons before her, ready for anything. She was barely able to hold back a gasp when saw the vicious wounds on the next group of fallen guards she passed.

At that moment, as her heart hammered in her chest, old and nearly forgotten memories came back to her against her will. She remembered the voice of her former squad leader back in the days she was an average Survey Corps recruit. She remembered how apprehensive he - and many other soldiers - had been when Levi was first recruited.

"_How could they bring that fiend up here? Are we really _that_ desperate for manpower? Now we have the underground's most notorious thug not just here on the surface, but serving alongside us, staying close to our barracks at night! What in the world was Erwin _thinking?_ Those MPs guarding him are nothing but small fry to him. What makes the higher ups think he won't just slit all our throats while we sleep, then run away with all our money? Even more, what the hell makes them think that monster will actually become a true soldier?_"

This was a conversation that recurred for months until they were all proven wrong; no major violent incidents happened with Levi. They eventually realized that this former thief, this rogue whose name was already a legend, was actually safe to be around - just as long as you kept your distance. He was unsettling, even terrifying at times, but safe. The coldness of his unreadable silver-gray eyes never changed, but his actions spoke otherwise. In every expedition Levi had not only singlehandedly killed more titans than anyone thought possible, but he'd also saved fellow soldiers countless times without hesitation. Slowly and gradually, only through his actions, he'd earned the respect and devotion of his fellow soldiers despite his intimidating presence.

Only she'd almost forgotten the shocking brutality he was capable of. Or had the titan serum enhanced that? That last one had been the seventh one - only one other guard must be in the premises. She continued to inch slowly down the hall, barely able to step around the pools of blood without making a sound.

She noticed the front door of the queen's residence was slightly ajar, and that a trail of blood on the ground led toward it. She continued her extremely careful pace in its direction, slowly opened the front door and cautiously stepped outside, her eyes darting in all directions.

It was still a dark, stormy and foreboding night, but the intensity of the rain had finally subsided. Hange could barely make out anything around her that her small light source - part of all the new Survey Corps equipment - didn't illuminate, until her eyes started adapting to the darkness around her very gradually. She spotted more blood stains on the ground and followed the trail they left behind, further away from the residence and toward a nearby group of thick bushes and trees.

She aimed her firearms forward in her best battle position, every one of her senses heightened, ready for anything. She became aware of every sound around her, the soft rustling of the leaves of the trees with the wind, the raindrops as they fell on the ground around her, the distant rumbling of remaining thunder in the sky, the twigs she crushed under her boots as she treaded deeper into the densely vegetated area. The slightest sound caused her to whip in its direction while expertly aiming the firearms, bracing herself for a fight. She reached an area with less dense vegetation and immediately spotted a humanoid figure crumpled on the ground, the night too dark to make out the details.

Then an impossibly swift, sharp blow to the back of her neck came out of nowhere. She crumpled to the ground, no sound or sign of movement of any kind warning her of the incoming danger. She cried out in pain as she fell, and for several seconds she felt too disoriented to even process what just happened, her whole body strangely numb. Amongst the blurriness and pain, Hange slowly and unsteadily reached for her weapons while lying on the ground. With a start, she realized they were all gone. Even the small dagger she always kept hidden on the side of her boot as backup was gone. The only thing she had left was her small light source.

In the blink of an eye, the Commander of the Survey Corps had been disarmed and turned into a completely helpless heap on the ground. She knew only one person capable of doing that.

Terrified, she could do nothing but stare at his silhouette in the darkness. She could tell he'd thrown her gear on the ground right next to him, but nothing more. It was too dark and her vision still too blurry to make out the details, but she knew exactly who it was. He stood several feet in front of her, between her and the fallen figure she'd spotted earlier. Her racing heart felt like it would burst any second. She cursed under her breath.

Captain Levi Ackerman turned his back on her for a moment and looked down at the motionless figure lying at his feet. He kicked the man's head hard, but no sound came from the limp body except for a crunch and also, Hange noticed with a horrified start, a frizzling sound, like something being scorched, accompanied by the sickening smell of burning flesh.

"I remember this piece of shit vividly," came Levi's unmistakable deep, husky voice. But there was something new and sinister in its timbre, something that made the hair on the back of Hange's neck stand on end. "I knew there was something off about this asshole. I should have trusted my instincts. But those stupid brats… they were so damn excited for the wine this maggot brought to our camp. How they begged for my permission to drink that fucking poison..." He spat hatefully on the body. "Barris. Everyone. You brats. Ever since you first came at me as titans, and the whole time I was cutting each and every one of you apart, turning you all into minced meat in seconds…" Hange gasped, horrified at the revelation. "All I could think about was that beard face piece of shit and this asshole's ugly face." He kicked the motionless figure beneath him hard multiple times, a sickening crunch and a frizzle each time his boot crushed the body, the stench of burning flesh getting worse and making Hange gag. "This filth. This fucking traitor. I should've known. I should've made you squeal like a pig back then, not now. Just you wait. I'll hunt down each and every one of you, even if I have to cross the ocean. I'm coming for you. I'll crush all of you disgusting maggots. I'll make you regret the day you were born."

She'd never heard him speak like that before, his voice far colder and more unsettling than ever, and immediately wished she hadn't. Her entire body trembled violently, making her feel like a small, helpless child, the reaction completely unfamiliar to someone like her who was more than used to mortal danger. But there was something unique and almost supernatural about the sheer energy surrounding him at that moment, the intensity of its menace much more overwhelming than anything she'd ever experienced before.

At that moment she was able to notice, for the first time, the new unnatural gleam in his silver-gray eyes, their color noticeably lighter and brighter than before. The air around him was warmer than normal and the wisps of steam coming out of his wounds were much more noticeable. His two fingers had regenerated fully. She was shocked to realize that Levi was currently about halfway through his recovery process.

Then her train of thought was abruptly interrupted when Levi turned to her and began approaching her with a dagger she just noticed he had in his hand - its steel, to her complete astonishment, glowing bright red. Her heart raced, the dense and unsettling energy he emanated becoming more intense as he got closer, his silver orbs gleaming unnaturally in the moonlight. A chill ran down her spine, a contrast to the abnormally warm air around her that also got more intense as he approached, suffocating her. She somehow found her voice, but it was a weak, hoarse, pathetic sound.

"Levi... please..."

She begged, on her knees, head bowed, overwhelmed with fear so intense she couldn't move. She'd never felt so paralyzed, not even when she first saw a titan as a child. She anticipated the worst and braced herself, eyes shut.

But then she only heard the soft rustle of paper very close to her. After a pause, she opened her eyes and saw that he'd thrown some sort of note on the ground right in front of her.

"Read it."

She froze for a few seconds, then slowly looked up at him and saw, to her intense relief, that he'd sheathed his now normal looking dagger. With shaking hands, she took the piece of paper. It was only the size of the palm of her hand, and she couldn't see a single thing written on it in that darkness. She had to use her portable light to read the note. Her jaw dropped. She read it again multiple times before she found her voice.

"These MPs... they were Yaegerists? By the Walls… they're everywhere," she whispered, her voice still hoarse.

Levi stood right in front of her, arms crossed, his gaze cold and unreadable as he looked down at her.

"You know, all of this has been the strangest experience." His calm tone was much more familiar to Hange, which relieved her tension greatly. "I saw and heard everything that happened from outside my body, like some fucked up ghost, right from the moment that bearded asshole blew us into the air, to what happened afterwards leading up to moments before I was able to move my body again. Even after you injected the serum, I saw and heard _everything_ that happened in that room." Levi stared pointedly at her, but his expression remained impassive as he went on. "Were you really so distracted you didn't suspect these pigs, Hange? That's not like you. But it doesn't matter now. The pieces of shit still think I'm dead because I silenced all of these assholes before they could talk. Now, mark my words. When I finally get my hands on that fucking beard faced maggot, for the third time now... I. Won't. Hesitate."

He reached out to her suddenly, making her wince, but then she looked up and saw that Levi was not only offering his hand to her, but also his expression finally softened enough to resemble his normal self.

"I'm sorry for the rough treatment." His kind tone was music to her ears. "With how on edge you were, I knew you'd shoot the first thing that moved. And also - thank you. For everything. I mean it."

Was that actually the hint of a smile on his face? Astonished, she stared up at him in disbelief, slowly and hesitantly reaching out for his hand.

"It's fine. I'm not going to hurt you. "

As he helped her get back on her feet, his hands were as warm as the skin of a pure titan and not scorching hot as she'd feared. She could feel her heart start to beat normally again.

"Now help me get rid of the bodies."


	2. Chapter 2

**Unrelenting Force**

**2**

"What am I?"

Levi had her trapped on the corner of the room where she sat the following morning, his hand pressed against the wall behind her as he leaned close to her.

It'd been a very busy and messed up night and they'd just woken up after a few hours of much needed sleep. Hange Zoe got to experience another unthinkable event for the first time - sharing a bed with Levi Ackerman. Exerting himself in the middle of his recovery process did take its toll, so when they were finally done getting rid of all the bodies and cleaning up their mess, he'd been far too exhausted to care. Of course, he still demanded she first bathe with him, the level of exhaustion totally irrelevant to him when it came to hygiene, but they had done that before. It was sleeping side by side on the only available bed, his blissfully warm skin against hers, his enticing scent filling her nostrils, that had been a first.

But then he woke up.

She'd been trying to calm him down for a while, his agitation, she suspected, a side effect of his body still metabolizing the serum. He watched her with a hungry, penetrating gaze. She tried her best to keep her composure, but it was no use. She knew he was far too perceptive.

"Levi…" she whispered, totally nervous despite her best effort. Her comrade's face was mere inches away from hers, his silvery orbs like cold, sharp daggers as they bore into hers.

"Tell me," he growled. "Right. Now. What the fuck am I?"

The intense menacing energy he'd emanated the night before returned. Back then, it went away the moment he'd offered his hand to her and smiled, but now she felt it slowly surface and send chills down her spine once more.

"I… I don't know," she replied, nervously searching for the right words. "You're the first of your kind. But what I do know is that, even before this, you were already extraordinary - and now it's as if you had a second Ackerman awakening. You're the first and only... what should be the term for it... ascended Ackerman, maybe? Every aspect that has always made you so great, your overwhelming strength, speed, agility, stamina, endurance, dexterity, concentration, senses, etcetera, I think all of them have been enhanced by an unknown amount. Who knows what you're capable of now, Levi. What we've seen so far are just the initial changes. Your eyes look different, your body temperature is warmer than normal and can be intensified to extreme levels with your will, you regenerate although at a slower rate than an average titan shifter, and your muscle mass has increased slightly. Given the kind of regeneration you now possess, I also think it's possible that your aging process has been completely halted, just like a pure titan. But that can only be confirmed with some experiments. Of course, it's also inevitable that there were going to be drawbacks, unfortunately... the mood swings from the dual nature of human and titan, the episodes of intense violent urges, the blood thirst... but I think that, with some effort, they can be controlled..."

"Great. Just wonderful," rasped Levi sarcastically. "Well, now that I'm an even _more_ monstrous killing machine than ever before, why not put me to good use already, _Commander_? You might as well, right? Just say the word. I'll go collect all their heads. I'll finally end this once and for all. What are we waiting for?"

"I know you understand that, as hard as it is, for the time being, we have to think beyond revenge. You know we can't afford to make the slightest mistake right now. One of our best advantages is that you're presumed dead. Also, our immediate priority is to protect Historia. The situation is very delicate for this island right now, and we need to think this through carefully, come up with a good enough plan…"

"I know, and I knew you'd say that. But Hange, you, most of all, know that it wouldn't be wise to keep me frustrated and inert like this. You know I'll get restless, now more than ever before. I'm just so... on edge. I'm not exaggerating when I say this. I'm itching. I'm just… itching for a kill." His eyes flashed dangerously as he said it, the heat emanating from him suddenly getting more suffocating. "Damn it, Hange! What have you done? I've really become a beast now, haven't I? I'm one of those _fucking_ things now. You just couldn't let me go. You had to bring me back. And you… made me into this - whatever this is. I've never felt so monstrous before. I feel as if my humanity is slowly slipping away from me. If only I told you all the thoughts that crossed my mind when I woke up… dark, irrational thoughts… even… about you, Hange. All I see is red… everywhere, all the time. I'm telling you, if I don't act on it soon, I don't know what will happen…"

She gulped and squirmed in her seat but then, to her great relief, something changed in Levi's expression. He blinked and the look in his eyes softened slightly, as if he'd been daydreaming and his awareness shifted. He moved away from Hange, watching her closely, then ran his hand through his silky, raven locks, breathing out in exasperation.

"I just scared the shit out of you again, didn't I?" Levi closed his eyes for a moment, then turned away from her. "Fuck. I'm sorry. I don't even know what I'm doing. Hange, I don't like this. It's as if I'm not always there, like I'm phasing in and out. I don't like seeing you look at me like that." He looked back at her, his brow furrowed. "Will this get worse with time? Will I lose myself?"

"I don't know, Levi..."

"I can't guarantee anyone's safety around me right now. You know very well that if I lose control, no one could stop me. I think I should go."

"Where?"

"Anywhere that's far away from you or anybody else I care about. At least until I figure out what's going on with me. It's a mistake to be around me so early after my... second awakening, as you called it. I'm far too dangerous. I need to learn to control it."

"I understand your reasons, but... I really need you here, protecting -"

"Protecting what?" He interrupted, anger flashing through his eyes. "Why do you think it's not _me_ you need protection from?"

"Because I believe in you, Levi. I always have, and I always will. You're the strongest person I've ever met, not just physically, but mentally and emotionally. I _know_ you can do this. I understand you want to be cautious -"

"Give me a break, Hange. You've never been reasonable around monsters, have you? Even when they have their jaws around your neck. You've always been crazy like that."

He approached her with an intense look in his eyes and picked up one of the empty steel containers the servants used the previous night. He held it out to Hange. She watched in astonishment as, in a matter of seconds, the container's normal color progressed from dull red to bright red, to orange, then to bright, blazing yellow. He stood a few feet away from her, his gaze unreadable as he watched her reaction, the dense energy and heat around them getting more intense, making her pant.

"I'm barely even thinking about it, Hange," Levi rasped. "And yet, it's almost changing shape, isn't it? You said these were just initial changes. What if I actually tried? Hange… think about it. If I lose control…"

She held her hands up at him in an appeasing gesture, gathering all the calmness she could muster.

"If anything happens…"

He trailed off, his expression haunted. The steel container went back to normal and he placed it back absent-mindedly. Without realizing what she was doing, Hange tentatively reached out for his arm, but he slapped her hand away.

"Stop it," he snapped, glaring at her. "Why don't you get it? Or is it that... you're just not thinking clearly..." He stared pointedly at her as he said it, his eyes narrowed. "You damn fool."

She had to find a way to ground him, to bring him back to himself. She quickly thought back on the years they'd spent together, his interests, quirks, passions and anything else she thought was capable of bringing him any kind of enjoyment.

"Levi... I…" said Hange hesitantly. "Listen, before she went to bed, Historia tried to convince me to get something to eat. She said her servants keep her kitchen well stocked and that we should have anything we want. Who knows, maybe they have some Earl Grey black tea leaves there. Would you like to brew some tea with me?"

He held her gaze impassively for a few silent moments, then slightly cocked his head.

"With all the shit that's going on right now, you seriously want me to brew tea with you?"

"Historia is still resting. We need to eat and drink something to be in decent enough condition to protect her and start planning our next move. So let's calm down a moment and refuel our bodies. We need it. Come on, Levi…"

She stood and beckoned him to follow her out of the room. Thankfully, she didn't need to convince him further and his demeanor changed completely as he followed her.

Minutes later, she noticed the rising sun still hung low in the sky to the east as she looked out the kitchen window. Everyone else in the queen's residence was still asleep, leaving the two of them alone as they worked the modest but well equipped and well stocked kitchen, which included everything they needed to prepare their tea and breakfast.

Years before, such a well stocked kitchen would've been impossible, as food within the walls used to only get more scarce over time. But now that Paradis was open to the rest of a wide, open world they'd just discovered, they were able to try out and enjoy a wide variety of new and exotic foods from the Continent, something they'd never even dreamed was possible - Levi more than anyone, considering where he came from. He'd always been far more appreciative of every single thing the vast majority of people from the surface took for granted, and food was always number one. He also never ceased to surprise people with quirks that totally contradicted their expectations of him. After all, no one expected humanity's strongest to be both an obsessive neat freak with an incomparable ability to leave things he cleans impossibly spotless, but also an outstanding cook to boot. Even more, that he actually enjoyed doing both.

Hange remembered with a smile how shocked people always were to see their revered captain cleaning or cooking so skillfully, like he'd suddenly transformed into a completely different person. She assisted Levi as he worked but he took the lead as he always did, his practiced movements swift and efficient, the smell of his amazing cooking filling her nostrils, her mouth watering. As she watched him work she noticed he was finally almost completely back to normal but, even then, something was still bothering him. She didn't have time to inquire him about it though as he'd been very busy, and before she knew it, the meal was ready.

They sat together on a small table on the corner of the kitchen and dug right in, only then realizing how incredibly famished they'd been, their rigorously trained bodies and minds having blocked this weakness until then. She couldn't hold back a moan as she savored the exquisite meal, both her level of hunger and the quality of the food adding to her pleasure. As she ate, her heart lightened up as she remembered how their peers would comically fight over the foods the captain prepared, not wanting to eating the ones prepared by anyone else, and Levi's resulting irritation, always harshly punishing anyone who dared leave the slightest bit of food on their plate.

The commander and the captain ate in a frenzied silence until they were both completely finished.

"That was absolutely delicious, as always," Hange moaned, rubbing her satiated belly. "Thank you, Levi."

He nodded curtly in response and drank his tea with his trademark peculiar grip on the cup, his gaze, she noticed, still haunted, his mind clearly elsewhere.

As she closely studied him, she noticed how impeccable he looked in his uniform he'd meticulously cleaned the night before. All his wounds were completely healed at last. Anybody that saw him then not knowing what happened would never imagine this was a man that had been on the verge of death the night before, covered with deep, hideous wounds all over his face and bathed in blood. In fact, he actually looked more fresh and well rested than she'd ever seen him, the usual shadows underneath his eyes completely gone, the fair skin on his flawless and perfectly chiseled face more radiant than ever. She tried her best to hide how she felt as she took in his absolutely stunning physical appearance, her heart beating faster despite herself.

It was no secret that ever since she first saw Levi, she'd been absolutely smitten with him. His odd and eccentric quirks as well as his dangerous personality made him all the more alluring to her. Of course, she learned very early on that it was unrequited - that much was painfully clear - but it never mattered. As they grew closer as comrades over the years, her feelings for him only grew and his irritation with her slowly waned. With time her unrequited crush became a usual source of jokes and taunts amongst their group, like a running gag about her that never actually bothered her. She'd always been glad to simply be at his side. She was especially glad now to have that privilege, when she knew he needed her the most.

"I really thought you were gone, Levi."

Knowing it'd be fine then to brave herself to do it, Hange reached over and held Levi's strong, warm hand, thrilled he didn't pull back like he usually would, and even more so when he only leaned closer to her. He gazed deep into her eyes, his torment visible. At that moment, his eyes looked more gunmetal blue rather than silver-gray as they reflected the brightness of the rising sun entering the kitchen window. She'd always loved how the color of his eyes changed with the lighting around him.

"Maybe I was, actually. For a moment," he said softly, his deep, husky voice a caress to her ears. "Listen, Hange. Something else happened last night while you were injecting the serum. I keep thinking about it, but still can't make sense of it. Like I told you, I was watching from outside my body at first, but then everything went black and I was just… gone. Next thing I know, I was standing in this _place_, and it wasn't a dream, of that I'm sure. It was a vast open space, like one of those desert places on the Continent, but the sand was snow white and it stretched in all directions as far as the eye could see. And the _sky_… words can't even begin to describe it. It was… completely out of this world, the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. I'd never seen so many stars and constellations before. Then I saw them. They came one by one… Petra, Isabel, Furlan, Erwin, Eld, Gunther, Oluo, Mike… all our fallen comrades. They were there with me. I know they were real. It wasn't an illusion. They watched me silently. Petra held my hand and smiled at me, thrilled I was there with her at last, that the two of us were together again. She said she missed me terribly. I… I was truly at peace for the first time in my life…" Hange could barely hold back the tears brimming in her eyes as Levi trailed off, unable to hide the sadness in his eyes for a brief moment. She took his hand in both of hers and caressed it affectionately, filled with an intense desire to throw her arms around him, but he quickly regained his composure as he went on. "Then _she_ appeared, out of nowhere - that girl. The one on all those drawings from those books you keep showing me. Blonde hair and dressed in very ancient and rudimentary clothes and sandals."

Hange gasped. "Ymir Fritz."

"But she looked so young - she was just a very strange looking brat. She looked up at me with the most unnatural eyes I've ever seen, then got close and put her hand over my heart. I was instantly back in that room with you and Historia, again like some damn ghost. You were just finishing injecting the serum, but it felt like I'd been with them for hours."

"She chose you."

They gazed into each other's eyes in silence for a long moment, no words needed to understand each other's astonishment.

Then a totally unexpected, deafening racket coming from the entrance of the kitchen startled them both and caused them to simultaneously whip to their feet, brandishing their firearms.

The loud, horrified squeak that came right after along with the sight before them brought their adrenaline down as quickly as it'd been raised, however.

On the floor at the threshold of the kitchen entrance was a very nervous looking, deeply blushing, kneeling young man with neck length, silky blonde hair and sky blue eyes, his modest clothes stained with what looked like chocolate, which was also splattered all over the floor and nearby walls, shards of broken glass all around him.

"Please don't kill me!"

He looked absolutely terrified as he held his shaking hands up at the two extremely deadly veterans before him.

Levi and Hange exchanged surprised looks for a brief moment, then lowered and put away their weapons. The young man sighed loudly, then proceeded to thank and apologize to them nervously and repeatedly as he started to hastily pick up some of the mess he'd made. Levi stared down at him disdainfully.

"Who the fuck is this blundering fool?"

"Historia's partner," replied Hange.

"You've got to be joking," Levi sneered.

It was the usual reaction, Hange thought. She'd been surprised as well when she first met the young man a few weeks earlier while visiting Historia. He was tall and handsome, but his personality was… amusing, to say the least. He was definitely not the partner anybody expected a queen to choose over an endless sea of suitors, and Hange accompanied everybody else in their confusion of trying to figure out what Historia saw in him.

As soon as she noticed Levi started to approach him, the captain's face back to its usual unreadable state, Hange darted forward between the captain and the young man and gestured at Levi to stop. The young man noticed this and shakily got to his feet, his face a mask of utter embarrassment as he faced the two soldiers, his eyes also reflecting a mixture of fear, shock and admiration when directed at the captain, who stared at him coldly.

Hange breathed in deeply and mentally crossed her fingers. She stood between the two men as she spoke, eyeing Levi warily.

"Levi, this is Steven."

The young man trembled so nervously as he faced Levi that he seem on the verge of collapsing to his knees. He sheepishly smiled down at the petite captain and extended his trembling hand, trying as best he could to find his voice. It never ceased to amaze Hange how, despite his surprisingly small size, Levi always made those around him feel a hundred times smaller than him, like mere insects, with no effort whatsoever. She estimated Steven was easily eight inches taller than the captain, and yet he might as well been standing before a colossal titan.

Levi continued to stare at him coldly, his arms crossed.

"C-captain Levi, sir, it's s-such an honor to stand before you," said Steven, trying to stutter as little as possible. "I've dreamed of meeting you since I was a child. You're absolutely incredible, sir. I'm s-sorry for all this mess."

The captain's cold, penetrating silver eyes darted to Steven's outstretched hand then back to his face disdainfully, his lips slightly curved with disgust, his arms still crossed and his cold gaze completely unchanged. Realizing what caused this, Steven hastily and thoroughly wiped the chocolate smudged on his hand, an embarrassing little laugh leaving his mouth before he could help it, then extended his hand out to the captain again.

Levi studied him icily for another brief moment. Then he slowly uncrossed his arms, his lips curved mischievously, his eyes never leaving Steven's, and firmly clutched the young man's hand.

"Charmed," Levi rasped, the sarcasm barely hidden. "So you're Historia's… lover." He forcefully shook the young man's hand with intentional and unnecessary strength, his eyes boring warningly into Steven's.

"Y-yes, sir," he barely managed to groan out. The handshake felt like an overwhelmingly powerful steel shackle was about to crush his hand into a pulp any moment. He grimaced and stared pleadingly into the captain's eyes for those few very terrifying seconds. Then Levi released him, his lips curved into a slight sneer.

"Y-you've got a very firm grip, captain," whimpered Steven, wincing and massaging his throbbing hand.

Hange sighed and shook her head, relieved their meeting hadn't gone down as terribly as she'd imagined. Levi eyed their surroundings with an air of disapproval Hange knew all too well.

"Now look at the mess you made, brat. You better help me clean it all. _Thoroughly_."

"Sir, the servants will - "

"Fuck that. I'm not waiting for any damn servants. Now move your sorry ass and help me clean all of this immediately. You too, Hange. I want this entire kitchen perfectly spotless in five minutes. Move it!"

"O-okay, s-sir," Steven whimpered.

Very typical Levi behavior, Hange thought. Their dynamic had always been ambiguous like that, their ranks totally irrelevant at times. He'd always been very naturally dominant and yet totally disinterested in high leadership. She was used to it after all the years they'd spent together.

Hange wiped the chocolate smudged on the wall with a still very nervous looking Steven working on the spot on the floor right beside her.

"I'm so sorry about this," said Steven for the millionth time, although he seemed to be slightly more at ease with Levi several feet away from him, expertly scrubbing the floor.

"You don't need to keep apologizing. It's alright. These things happen," Hange reassured him.

"Oh, thank you, ma'am." Steven finally relaxed. "It's just that seeing two legendary heroes such as yourselves doing this feels… wrong. I mean, you guys are absolutely amazing! I shake all over just thinking about one of those things, and yet you killed them all! I heard Captain Levi's kill count alone is in the thousands - _unbelievable_! You and the rest of the Corps saved and freed us all! To be perfectly honest, growing up, I never met a single person that didn't practically worship Captain Levi. And I've had the immense privilege of hearing all about you guys from my beloved Historia. I still can't believe how lucky I am. Commander Hange, I mean this from the bottom of my heart - you and Captain Levi are beyond glorious."

"Thank you."

He then proceeded to blabber on to her about Historia as they continued cleaning.

"I was going to refill her favorite hot chocolate and desserts just now, you know. I like to do little things for my beloved like that instead of just using the servants. But seriously, you wouldn't believe the amount of chocolate that fits inside that tiny body of hers. And now, it doesn't matter what time it is, it could be three in the morning and she will suddenly wake up and demand everything and anything made of chocolate - cookies, ice cream, cakes, you name it! And what kind of man would I be if I didn't please her? Just yesterday, I spent hours looking all over town for this very particular and rare dessert she craved. But don't get me wrong, I don't mind at all! I'd do it all for her again in a heartbeat. She's a goddess, I tell you. I love her with all my heart."

"Good to hear," replied Hange absent-mindedly, barely paying attention as he went on. She was relieved when she saw that their spot finally met Levi standards of cleanliness - she knew them all too well - and that she could finally end their conversation without seeming rude.

Her comrade, on the other hand, couldn't care less about that.

"Boy," called Levi imperiously from the other side of the kitchen. "Come here. I want to talk to you - now."

Hange braced herself. She met Steven's terrified gaze and nodded reassuringly, gesturing at him to come with her. He followed behind her closely like a scared puppy with its tails between its legs. She genuinely felt bad for the young man.

Levi leaned against the now pristine table behind him, arms crossed and his gaze as scrutinizing as ever as he watched Steven. Hange tried, to no avail, to meet the captain's eyes, but he was deliberately ignoring her.

Levi first let a few seconds of tense silence pass between them.

"Look at me."

Without realizing he'd been doing it, Steven had been avoiding the captain's unsettling eyes. Levi's gaze had been far too cold and penetrating for comfort. The young man quickly obeyed though, and was back to being the small, trembling insect before the colossal titan. He'd never been a man of faith, but at that moment Steven silently prayed to a higher force, whatever god that might be. He shifted uncomfortably where he stood, Levi's voice as cold as his eyes.

"What was your name again?"

"S-Steven Clark, s-sir," the young man stuttered.

"How old are you?"

"Nineteen, sir."

"And what do you _do_, exactly?"

"I - I - Uh… W-work the farm, sir and I go to different towns to sell the produce, but also separate a portion to donate to the poor. I also do different chores at the orphanage, anything my beloved goddess needs, really. B-but right now, I'm mostly busy just taking care of her, staying by her side at all times, you know," he giggled nervously. "She does keep me very busy everyday, sir."

"Yes, I'm sure she does," sneered Levi. "Now I'll get to the point. What exactly are your intentions with Historia?"

"M-my intentions? Well, sir, to be perfectly honest, she's the love of my life. She wan't interested in marriage when I asked her, b-but believe me, I'd marry her in a heartbeat if she wanted to. I love her with all my heart. She's my - "

"Bullshit."

"Levi." Hange shot him a disapproving look that the captain ignored as he went on.

"Now listen here, boy. I see the way your eyes dart around when you answer my questions. You think I don't notice, but I notice _everything_. You see, that brat you knocked up - she's not just the queen of the Walls, it so happens she's kind of my _own_ brat, like her peers who still serve under me. I don't think I need to tell you what will happen when I find out what you're hiding."

"Levi, please." Hange got closer to the captain and put her hand on his arm, but he still ignored her as he went on, his unforgiving gaze never leaving the squirming young man.

"Come now. Spit it out. Save yourself the torment. What is it?"

"I - uh - s-sir," he stuttered nervously, visibly sweating. "With all due respect, sir, I have no idea what you're -"

"Shut up," Levi snapped. "You can't fool me with your pathetic act, so don't even try."

The captain straightened up toward Steven. Hange immediately darted between the two men, facing Levi, and was just about to open her mouth when a voice came from the kitchen entrance.

"Commander Hange," one of the queen's handmaidens called from the threshold. "The queen requested your presence, ma'am."

Hange could almost feel the Steven's relief at the interruption. She heard him breath out intensely. The flustered, sweaty young man stepped out of their way, looking down, clearly very eager for them to leave the kitchen. As the two soldiers walked by him, Hange heard Levi's menacing whisper.

"I'm watching you, brat."

Hange was thankful, again, that it hadn't been as bad as she'd thought. She looked back one last time at Steven and saw him leaning against the wall behind him, shakily wiping the sweat off his face with a handkerchief.

As they walked together down the hall following the handmaiden, Hange got very close to Levi and whispered into his ear.

"What happened to not scaring the shit out of people? Historia is a grown woman now, you know."

Levi merely shot her a disdainful look as they walked on.

They entered the cozy and well kept living room of the residence and saw Historia on her rocking chair right next to the fireplace. Her eyes widened as soon as they rested over Levi and she drew herself up as they approached.

"Captain," she breathed out, gaping at him. "I can't believe my eyes. You look like _new_, as if nothing happened!"

The two soldiers stood close to their queen and former comrade-in-arms, Levi with a rare, kind hearted expression on his handsome face.

"It was all because of you and Hange. Thank you for everything, Historia," the captain rasped in a genuinely grateful tone, his voice a delight to their ears.

The queen felt almost as surprised as the day Levi smiled at her and the rest of her group after her coronation, moments after she angrily socked his arm. He caught them totally off guard back then, all of them sure he'd be livid. She remembered how puny her blow felt, like the touch of a feather to him, she was sure, and she'd trained as rigorously as any of her peers in hand-to-hand combat. And yet in the present moment, just like that day, awareness of the enormous power gap between him and everyone else went to the back of her mind, the intimidating vibe around the captain momentarily dispersed, allowing her to see and understand what his numerous admirers saw. She had to consciously remind herself who he was for a moment to avoid any awkward and unwanted attraction from occurring, especially since the captain always looked way younger than he was, to the point where ignorant people often mistake him as one of her peers. Memories of incidents like those had been the source of numerous jokes amongst their group throughout the years, at times bringing much needed lightheartedness to their very bleak lives. To them, Levi had always been a very strict father that redefined tough love but also taught them how to survive hell, for which she'd be eternally grateful despite any leftover resentment.

"It was the least I could do," said Historia with a genuine smile. "After all, you've saved us all countless times. I'm glad we have you back, captain."

Hange informed the queen all the details of the island's current political situation, including the rise of the new rebellious Yeagerist faction, Eren's betrayal and Commander-in-Chief Zackly's assassination. Finally, she explained the events of the previous night. Historia's jaw dropped.

"_All_ of them were?" The queen gazed intently at Levi. "Thank you so much for taking care of that so skillfully as always, captain."

Levi nodded curtly in response, his gaze impassive.

Historia took a moment to let the huge amount of very emotionally charged information sink in. Eren's treachery hurt her the deepest. She could tell Hange felt the same. The Commander tried her best to control how upset she felt while she explained her recent conversations with Eren that confirmed his dramatic change. Levi, however, remained as unreadable as ever, merely watching them both silently with his arms crossed.

"I was such a fool…" whispered Historia, her brow furrowed, her eyes brimming with tears. "Back then, I was so sure I'd made an admirable choice - defying my deplorable father, valuing my pride over everything else, and… choosing to save my friend." She scoffed. "I can't believe I doomed everyone like this. I let those… _usurpers_… have their way, and now, to top it all off, I'm in this condition when I'm needed the most. I've been the worst monarch ever." She stared pointedly at Levi as she said it, but the captain remained inscrutable.

"Historia, I understand how you feel, but it's no use lamenting now," said Hange. "We have to move forward and don't have much time. You are a target. First of all, we need to focus on hiding and protecting you until you give birth. The Yeagerists will soon notice the soldiers' absence and react accordingly. This residence has therefore been compromised. We need to move to a hideout as soon as possible. We just have to decide where."

The three of them brainstormed ideas, but none of the hideouts they could think of were good enough. The rebellion had been more widespread than they'd imagined and nearby towns, Hange was sure, were likely already swarming with Yeagerists.

"I have an idea," said Historia. "My half-sister, Frieda Reiss, often took me to different places around Paradis hidden in the forest, secret places whose locations have been passed down the royal family for generations. I doubt anyone knows about them. I recovered all the memories she erased four years ago and I still remember how to get to some of them. There's one in particular that is close to here."

It was their best bet.

Later that morning, Levi closed his eyes and breathed deeply and slowly, the commotion outside the room he was alone in echoing unnaturally and uncomfortably inside his head. He could hear the hurried footsteps of servants bustling all around the queen's residence, as well as their voices and accompanying sounds, all mixed up. Some of them, he was sure, came from the kitchen on the far end of the residence. His head started to hurt with the sensory overload until he willed it all to go away for a moment, concentrating deeply. After it became quiet again, he opened his eyes and looked in the mirror in front of him.

One of those fucking things, indeed, he thought with a mixture of disgust, shock, and, deep down, despite trying to deny it to himself - thrill. He grimaced as he examined the new and unnatural gleam of his now lighter colored silver-gray eyes - a gleam that was all too familiar to him. It was exactly the same as the one he'd seen on thousands upon thousands of huge, soulless and bloodthirsty eyes over the years, right before snuffing out the light of life from them - if it could even be called life.

Levi slowly opened and closed his fists, clenching them firmly and feeling their new and overwhelming strength. Not even at his peak while fighting the toughest opponents had he felt such unnatural power within him, dormant and demanding to be released. It was very volatile, unfocused, and unfamiliar to him, but also very thrilling, making him itch to put it to good use. He felt like his body wasn't his own - a very strange and unsettling feeling, like someone else entirely was staring back at him within the mirror.

He absent-mindedly reached for the hood of his black traveling cloak and put the hood low over his head, concealing his face so that only his lips were clearly visible, then paused when the smell of burnt cloth suddenly reached his nostrils. With a start, he quickly realized he'd slightly burnt the material with his fingers, and had to consciously will his body to cool down. He shook his head in disbelief.

He checked his equipped ODM gear that he looted from one of the previous night's corpses one last time, including its semi-automatic firearms. He strongly missed his own gear, especially his swords, all left behind where the explosion happened. He was relieved, however, that the collection of small blades he always kept hidden in his person, as well as the personal handgun he always carried, had remained with him throughout the whole ordeal. He briefly checked them as well before he set off to meet with Hange.

As he walked down the hallway, Levi noticed right away how quickly every single person in the vicinity scurried out of his way. It was still morning, yet he was already irritated at having to constantly shift his focus into trying to contain the intense, erratic energy he kept emanating. He stepped outside and quickly spotted the group gathered with the horses in front of the residence. He approached as silently as always and yet as soon as he was within earshot, they all turned to him. Each and every one, whether consciously or unconsciously, stopped whatever they were doing to gawk at him. His lips curled with irritation at the unwanted attention.

Levi stood amongst them and crossed his arms, tense silence passing between them for a few seconds.

"Well?" He sneered.

The look in their eyes was all too familiar to him - and he didn't like how difficult it was for him to avoid it. He didn't like how difficult it was for him to control anything since he woke up that morning.

"Are we going to stand around like morons all day or are we finally moving our asses out of here?"

Hange approached Levi and shot a quick, apologetic look at the others. Earlier that morning, the captain argued in favor of keeping the group as small as possible to avoid drawing attention while traveling, which Hange understood perfectly well. However, due to the queen's current physical condition, there were some who needed to accompany her at all times, including her personal handmaiden and a servant who was also an experienced doula, both also trained in horseback riding. The baby's arrival was close but the exact due date unknown, further increasing the group's tension. Needless to say, the captain was less than thrilled about having to travel with such a vulnerable and inexperienced group on such precarious circumstances.

"We're just waiting for Steven," said Hange.

Ah, yes, the little ass kisser, thought Levi wryly.

Something stirred inside him and multiple thoughts and memories rushed to him all at once. If there was one thing that will always be second nature to Levi, it was seeing right through and reading strangers effortlessly, noticing every small, fleeting facial expression, body position, eye dart or intonation unnoticed by the vast majority of people, all valuable pieces of a puzzle he quickly assembled in his mind. Ever since he was nothing but a starving little wraith clawing for every breath on the hell he unfortunately had to call home, detecting and sizing up marks, potential snitches and snakes became a pre-requisite for survival, and he mastered it well before any of his peers even hit puberty. He also learned the hard way, as it always was in the Underground, to never forget a face.

"The boy stays," declared Levi.

He stated it coldly and with an air of finality. Hange's anxiety level skyrocketed in about an instant as soon as she saw Historia's face.

"Excuse me, captain," the queen said after a moment of silence. "Did you just say that my partner can't come with me?"

She circled around her horse toward Levi, her eyebrows raised.

"Yes. Got a problem with that?" He gazed at her warningly, his voice icy. Anyone else would have caved in to his will immediately - but not Historia Reiss.

"As a matter of fact, I do," she answered boldly, her eyes flashing angrily. Hange gestured at her to back off, but the queen ignored her. One of few people actually shorter than Levi - and, ironically, one of _very_ few with the guts to defy him - she recklessly approached the captain and stared up at him from just a few feet away. She gazed hotly into his intimidating eyes. "I'm so sick of everyone thinking that because I'm pregnant, I'm now just a mindless, useless breeding machine that can get pushed around all the time. I'm not your subordinate anymore. I'm your _queen_, damn it! And you made it that way, remember? So deal with it! My word is final, whether you like it or not! What are you going to do about it, captain? Commit high treason? Choke me - your pregnant queen - then lift me into the air and yell me into submission?"

The temperature of the air around them suddenly spiked. Speechless, Hange darted between the captain and the queen, shocked that Historia was unfazed by Levi's piercing gaze.

For him, time seemed to stand still for a moment as he endured a powerful surge of feelings and urges he'd already fought back with all his willpower twice that day, but this time, it was far more intense. Historia's heartbeat resounded inside his head, along with an almost irresistible urge to get very close to her and carry out a variety of deplorable actions, but also, only this time, he noticed a second heartbeat, much softer but still clearly audible, and originating from Historia's belly. With disgust, he quickly realized what its source was. The first time the urge happened was with Hange that morning when he woke up, and the second time had been when questioning the queen's lover. He'd been denying it to himself until that moment.

For an instant that seemed to last minutes, he could only hear the two synchronous heartbeats, every other sound around him muffled, he could only smell Historia's inviting scent, and he could only think about the new and inexplicable awareness of every conduit of vital fluid inside her, and the powerful urge to consume every last drop. Appalled at the urge, he angrily fought it down, then shifted his focus to the present situation. His fury at her defiant words and attitude made his effort at self-control all the more difficult, but with intense focus, he managed to overcome all the disturbing thoughts, feelings and urges. He tried to ignore the resounding heartbeats as he managed to form words, unable to block the unwanted sounds.

"Historia," he hissed. "I need you to use your head for a moment, brat. That snake, Yelena - she introduced you to him, didn't she?"

"Yeah. So?"

"Why do you think?"

A hint of unease flashed through her eyes for a brief moment.

"What are you getting at?"

"_Think_. Use the modest intellect you possess. Your kingdom depends on it."

"Always so charming with the insults, aren't you, captain? Thanks for that," she said sarcastically. "Look, I get it. You suffered terrible betrayal - especially yesterday. You don't trust anyone right now, and I can't blame you for -"

"Don't you dare question me, brat," he snarled dangerously. "I remember that stupid face of his clearly from all the times I spotted him around that bitch. I also watched how he moved around her - something you'd know nothing about. He can't be trusted."

"He's coming with me. You can't bully me like last time."

"I know you're just a stupid brat, but for fuck's sake, listen to reason for once in your damn life. That swine you keep around is hiding something. Mark my words - it will come to bite you in the ass, and when it does, it will be too late, _my queen_," said Levi venomously, his eyes narrowed.

"Steven has been my partner for years. He's literally the only good thing that's ever happened to me, and our baby is due any moment. I can't go without him. He's coming with us, and that's final."

"You'll regret this."

"Levi, it's no use," said Hange firmly, her hand on his shoulder.

The commander stood between him and Historia and gazed into the captain's eyes, an unspoken understanding occurring between them. She was greatly relieved to feel the temperature go back to normal and his gaze soften after a brief moment. Levi then abruptly turned to mount his horse without another word. Thankfully, the group finally set off a minute later.

It was, by far, the most irritating travel experience Levi had ever endured.

Ever since they rode out of the residence, he'd been trying, in vain, to bring his senses back to normal, but they'd become even more unstable and difficult to control than before ever since his argument with Historia. He was positioned last in the group. He kept a close eye on them all, as well as their surroundings. The queen rode first, leading the way into the nearby forest, with Hange right next to her. Even with the distance between him and the queen, he could still hear the two unwanted heartbeats inside his head as clearly as before, with the monstrous blood thirst still threatening to overwhelm him. Every other sound around him was either muffled or unusually loud and clear inside his head in an unstable manner, all mixed up with the rhythmical thumping he couldn't block out of his mind, giving him a pounding headache. Accompanying that annoyance was an intense and totally irrational urge to pounce on the others in front of him and rip them all to shreds for no reason. He gritted his teeth in silent fury as he fought it down with all his willpower.

Even with the sensory disturbance he was experiencing, Levi remained cognizant of their location, the forests of Paradis like the back of his hand after so many long years of venturing through them, leading squads and troops and performing countless solo expeditions. He could see past battles stretched out around him, the memories of their horrors, as well as their thrills, as clear to him as if they'd happened the day before. Everywhere he looked, he could see the death of a comrade where it'd happened. And yet, as awful as it was, he kind of missed those days, despite their constant unspeakable tragedies. Those were much simpler times, when there was only the fight for humanity's survival and eradicating the titans outside the walls, not the convoluted mess they were living through now. And definitely not when he was feeling like he'd swapped bodies with a titan.

They moved as inconspicuously as they could, their hooded traveling cloaks hiding their identities, but every one of Levi's meticulously honed battle instincts told him it was no use. He tried as best he could to remain on high alert, but with every minute that passed, the headache and blood thirst only got worse, clouding his mind and vision as they rode deeper into the forest.

As time passed, his surroundings appeared to slightly shift around him. His breathing became more labored and his hands as he held his horse's reins also became strangely numb, his awareness of their location diminishing. Not just Historia's scent, but all of their scents filled his nostrils at that point, their vitality calling to him, their heartbeats echoing uncomfortably inside his head. He instinctively knew there was only one way to make it all go away. His mind threatened to shift against his will.

Then he heard a voice right in front of the group.

"Don't move."

Levi didn't hear or see them come like he usually would. It was as if the forest itself had come alive. With skill only years of very rigorous, elite military training could produce, combined with techniques only he, Captain Levi, could have passed down, the group of soldiers closed in on them from all directions in a flawless formation, expertly aiming their firearms.

Two traditionally sized squads working together, Levi immediately noticed, for a total of eight soldiers. They all wore hooded military capes, concealing their identities, and the mechanism of their ODM gear had evidently been tweaked to enhance silent movement.

Then Levi saw the Wings of Freedom.

Their obvious skill at stealth gave the soldiers away, especially to the man that was, unbeknownst to them, none other than their former teacher and captain who'd taught them all their moves. However, it was the symbol of the Survey Corps on their uniforms that confirmed it.

Filthy turncoats, thought Levi hatefully.

A surge of white-hot rage overwhelmed him, paralyzing the captain. He bowed his head and tried to regulate his breathing, his hood concealing his face almost completely, his awareness shifting despite his best effort. In a moment, the unwanted heartbeats inside his head stopped and the combination of scents invading his nostrils dispersed at last. The voices of the people around him became mere muffled whispers in the background. A perfect clearness and stillness took over his body and mind. He felt as if he'd descended down a dark abyss, and at the bottom he saw unnatural, striking violet eyes, the irises like beams of starlight, and for the briefest moment, felt the touch of a goddess over his heart once again and an eruption of unprecedented power inside him. His body moved on its own.

In one superbly swift, graceful and masterful move, Levi leapt from his horse and simultaneously threw three small knives, their trajectory through the air perfect before each one hit its respective target square in the eye impossibly fast. At the same time, with his other hand, he triggered the mechanism of his ODM gear and shot a grapple-hook at the soldier closest to him, anchoring it to his throat, then used the momentum of the soldier's body getting reeled toward him to somersault closer to the remaining four. Before the soldiers even registered the blur of lightning fast movements, Levi gracefully landed on the ground beside them in a masterful battle stance and fired a quick sequence of deliberately non-vital gunshots, incapacitating and knocking them all down before they had time to react.

Not even Hange saw Levi's movements. It all seemed to happen in the blink of an eye. The commander barely had time to respond to the enemies before she saw them fall all around them like rag dolls. She also didn't have time to react accordingly before her horse got out of her control, neighing loudly and throwing her off its back before darting off into the forest.

The commander expertly broke her fall and rolled unto her feet. She immediately noticed, with a start, that the other horses were also in a terrified frenzy, almost throwing their riders off their backs as well. Hange used her ODM gear to swiftly reel herself toward Historia, catching the pregnant queen moments before she hit the ground. The commander simply could not do the same for the other members of the group, and could only wince as they all hit the ground hard after being thrown off their horses. The dense energy made the air around them all more suffocating than ever. Flocks of birds flew away from their location. Hange could only watch the scene in front of her in stunned silence, her only relief the fact that Historia was unscathed.

"Weak, pathetic scum - all of you."

One of the fallen soldiers, completely helpless on the ground at Levi's feet, recognized his former captain's icy voice. His eyes widened in terror. Darkly smirking down a his former subordinate, Levi lowered his hood, revealing his face. The soldier's jaw dropped. Then the captain stomped hard on the soldier's chest, mercilessly crushing him with his boot. The soldier's wails drowned out all the other sounds of agony coming from his fallen comrades around them as his bones snapped and his flesh seared horrifically with each blow. Cold and unforgiving, Levi reached down and roughly and effortlessly lifted the soldier up by the neck with one hand, the sickening sound and smell of burning flesh filling the increasingly hot air around them all, the soldier's wails changing to blood -curdling gasps as the flesh on his neck burned. When the body went limp, the captain tossed the scorched remains aside and made his way to the next cowering soldier.

"Disgusting," snarled Levi as he looked down at his next enemy, who tried, in vain, to crawl away from his former captain over a pool of his own blood mixed with filth that just escaped him amongst the utter terror that overwhelmed him. Incapable of emitting sounds other than horrified whimpers and cries, only his eyes expressed his pleads and begs.

"You trash," sneered Levi cruelly. "You were always the most worthless. Let me put you out of your misery."

With masterful speed and grace, the captain kicked the soldier down unto his back, inched slightly closer, then delivered a second, devastating blow to the soldier's head, crushing it under his boot like an egg. He approached the two remaining living soldiers, both writhing in agony over pools of their own blood and far too terrified to speak.

Hange heard a sickening splash right next her and immediately focused her attention on her trembling, sick queen. The stench of death around them at that moment made the Commander feel just as nauseated.

"He's lost it!" Historia cried, her voice trembling and her face soaked with tears. She hissed and winced uncomfortably at the rapidly worsening temperature around them. "What's this? It burns!" The unnatural heat was so intense it seemed to siphon all energy from them in an instant. Hange knew trying to fight in those conditions would be useless. "Hange, do something!" Historia screamed. "Please!"

Hange's worst nightmare seemed to be coming true before her eyes. Her mind numb, the commander slowly made her way toward Captain Levi, barely believing her eyes as she watched him torture the two remaining enemies to death with even more cruelty than before. She didn't even realize she'd whispered his name when he abruptly turned to her and Historia.

He brandished a blood soaked, glowing knife and licked the blood off as he stared at them, his lips curved mischievously, his expression monstrous. Hange's heart skipped a beat and a chill went up her spine, making the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. The captain's eyes glowed unnaturally - two menacing silver orbs in which all humanity was seemingly gone - as his gaze bore into the fallen queen with alarming hunger. A low, blood curdling growl escaped his blood soaked lips as he began to inch toward Historia with nothing but bloodlust on his now almost unrecognizable face. Forcing her body to move, Hange darted forward between Historia and the captain, gesturing at him to stop. His gaze shifted to the commander, his lips curled with irritation at her interference, his pace unchanged. Without thinking, Hange seized her comrade's face with both her hands.

"Levi," groaned Hange, trying to withstand the captain's painfully hot skin as she held his face toward hers. The terrifying look in his eyes slightly faltered as he looked into hers. "Levi, please! I know you're still there!" Hange cried. "Come back to us! Listen to me! Remember Isabel? She was like a little sister to you, wasn't she? Remember Isabel's awful singing voice that she used to force people to give her food? Her favorite cookies that I won her over with - remember the flavor? They were chocolate chip. Her… ugh," she groaned louder, wincing at the unbearable pain but forcing herself to endure it. "Remember how much she loved animals. That… little bird she nursed that she told me about. Remember her energetic smile, her emerald green eyes, her flaming red hair? She loved you so much - like an older brother. Think of her. Think of Isabel."

No longer able to withstand the agony of her scorched hands, Hange Zoe cried and crumpled to the ground right in front of captain Levi, wincing and doubling over in pain. Seeing and hearing his comrade's suffering, Levi felt his awareness start to slowly shift back, like a dark cloud beginning to disperse inside him. He began to take in and process the scene in front of him, Hange groaning loudly on the ground at his feet in a fetal position and Historia kneeling right next to her lover's motionless body only a few feet away from him, pools of blood all around her. The queen stared up at the captain wide eyed, sobbing and panting frantically.

"No!" Screamed Historia desperately. "Please, don't kill us. I beg you!"

The level of desperation in her voice shook something inside of him once more, his face slowly regaining a more human appearance. His mind still a confused haze, Levi made his body move with sheer willpower. Slowly and steadily, the captain stepped back and away from Historia and Hange. He stared at the ghastly surroundings in disbelief for another long moment before vanishing in a blur of imperceptible movement.

As Hange Zoe's world progressively darkened, the pain of her scorched skin unbearable, her bitter tears falling on the ground underneath her face, Historia's cries became weaker and more muffled with each moment, and the image of the sobbing queen kneeling next to the fallen figures amongst heat waves that shimmered all around them blurred. Hange's world then slipped away from her, and the commander's strong body became another motionless figure on the scorching hot, blood soaked ground.

24


End file.
